Considering a move to Cincinnati (Columbus, Warren: best city, sale, renter)

[mcgrathdr]

Originally Posted by paintballer1708

And this is coming from someone from Detroit or the Detroit area. I lived there for 6 months. I hated it and i hated Michigan. The economy up there sucks. The people are rude. And racism is everywhere in Detroit let alone Michigan. Blacks have no oppurtunity there. You see alot of people moving to Ohio from Michigan and i wonder why. Oh ya a better economy. Lets not get started on racism because Michigan is home to that. Detroit has so many open and abandoned lots its not even funny. I was afraid to be in downtown Detroit. It was a ghost town. Really you dont know much about Cincy. That downtown is vibrant and they have so much construction going on. But cant say the same in Detroit. Cincinnati spends alot more on their downtown than Detroit does. Cincinnati metro is growing. Not Detroit's.

I'm trying to be as unbiased as possible in comparing Cincinnati (and Ohio) to the rest of the country. Cincy's economy is better than Detroit's (thanks GM, Ford, etc.), but let's face it, Ohio is in the rust belt. The city does not offer enough incentive for new business to move to the area, and thus many are moving away from Cincinnati and the midwest in general. Downtown here is in better shape's then Detroit, but has a long way to go in attracting people to the area for reasons beside sporting events. The first new building in years was just completed across from the ballpark, and the plan for developing the Banks only recently passed after the city and the county FINALLY came to some form of an agreement. Downtown can't be considered "vibrant" until local government stops being so bureaucratic and inefficient, and starts doing everything possible and necessary to draw people back to the city. While Cincinnati's metro area is growing, the city's population continues to shrink, and is almost half what it was a few decades ago.

As for mikef, coming from Lakota Schools, I'm not surprised that you've had to deal with Bible bangers and far-right wingers. West Chester and the surrounding burbs are not even in Hamilton County, so don't assume all greater Cincinnatians are the same as those from Butler County. The crowd that you find at Kings Island (again, not even in Hamilton County) is not a good representation of the city's population. Cincy itself is much more liberal than the sprawl that surrounds it (I can't remember the last mayor that wasn't a Democrat). The metro area is conservative, yes, not unlike the rest of the midwest. Nowhere near the majority of people are bigoted evangelicals, however, so before making such generalizations, you may want to look beyond your corner of Butler County and the patrons of King's Island.

[paintballer1708]

Yes Cincinnati is not where it use to be some 40-50 years ago. But things are changing. The Banks project did go through alot of trouble but its getting built. Queen City Tower is in the proposed process right now but someday will be approved. Cincinnnati spends the most on its riverfront than any other city in the US. Competeting with cities like St. Louis, Pittsburgh, Sacramento etc. And i live up by Cleveland in Westlake, Ohio. I moved here from the Pittsburgh metro. Like i said i lived in Detroit area for 6 months. I dont like Michigan. I found the people to be very rude. Probaly because there was overcast skies 7 months of the year and it seemed to be cold all year. And the African American population just doesnt get treated very well. My new neighbors that just moved in about two weeks ago came from Livonia, Michigan and they love Ohio. They hated Michigan also. See i had planned on staying in Michigan. But when i realized how bad the economy was i went back to Pittsburgh. And everyone that i had lived by in the apartment had asked me "why would you move to Michigan?" I didnt know what to tell them. Thats when i realized everything about Michigan. Then my job moved me to Cleveland. And i love it here.
You say that the Midwest is where everyone is moving out of. Yes your right. But Columbus has one of the fastest growing rates in the northern USA. Competeting with Minneapolis, Portland, Seattle. The 12th fastest growing county in the country is Deleware County, Ohio. It gained 40,000 people between 2000-2005. There were 100 counties that were the fastest growing in the US. Not one was in Michigan. Ohio had the fastest growing GSP (Gross State Product) in the Midwest and Northeast.
Ohio's cities are changing. They are coming around just like PA cities. People that once moved out of Ohio are coming back. Not just because it is cheaper to live here but because the economy is coming around and the areas are attractive. Ohio just like PA might be the "Rust Belt" but they are doing a heck of a good job changing that image. Im not trying to create a Michigan vs Ohio thread. But I love Ohio and so do many other people that are moving to this state. And Cincinnati's downtown population grew by 850 people which was one of the best downtown growth rates in 2005. Not only is commercial development in downtown on the move but so is residential development.

[paintballer1708]

http://www.census.gov/popest/countie...ST2005-09.html

You know i just got done about 2 hours ago talking to my friends from Indianalpolis who took a weekend trip to Cincinnati. They found the city to be very nice. Lots of renovations going on. They said there were so many upper class restaurants in the city they thought they were in parts of Chicago or New York City. They loved the old and modern buildings. And the Carew Observation with great views of the skyline. They said the African American Museum was very nice and it was so big they didnt have time to see the whole thing.

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=106581

Check that website out for really great shots of a very nice city.

[keviv]

Hi,

I've just been told that my job is moving to Cincy, so I was wondering if any of you could help me learn a bit more about Cincy, and Blue Ash and the surrounding environment.

Im 23, male and Asian Indian, so am a little worried when reading about some of the race-related incidents. Coming from NY/ NJ, I'm used to a very open/ friendly neighbhorhood. I do want to try living in a small town to take a break from the hustle of NYC.

Could anyone help me out and let me know a bit about these places? Is it viable for a young couple to move there?

Thanks!

[paintballer1708]

keviv trust me the race riots are long gone. I mean i look at mostly every major US city has had a race riot once in its history. I think you will like SW Ohio. It is becoming very diverse. Its mostly african american. Believe it or not Ohio actually has a high Indian population. Esp in NE Ohio and around Columbus. SW Ohio's economy is growing. Cincinnati and Columbus both have 7 fortune 500 companies which is some of the highest in the country. I think Cincy is #7 and Columbus is #9 as far as fortune 500 companies go. They are also home to many HQs that are both nationaly and international. You could move to Hamilton, Ohio. It is just north of Cincinnati and its growing but it still has that small town feel to it. If you need anymore information i am here and i would be happy to answer them for you.

Paintballer1708

[Kereczr]

I've lived in Ohio a good hunk of my life and I can say without hesitation that it is one of the worse states I have ever visited. Everywhere I go old towns are dying and even crappier ones are rising to take their place. For instance I lived in Portsmouth, Ohio for awhile now and it is full of corruption, pollution, intolerance, etc. Cincy, I don't know what others think but when I visit Cincy I am VERY much struck by a racial divide. Driving down vine street to get to the Cincy University you come to a crumbling, poor, miserable little part that is full of nothing but African Americans. There is definately a racial divide from what I have seen.

[guidonia]

Yeah, no question the racial divide is real and deep. I grew up in the area and lived there for 11 years as an adult. Having gone to an interracial church where these issues were openly discussed, I can say that white and black people live in different worlds, as far as their attitudes about the racial situation go. (I don't know how this compares to the rest of the country). Many white people were completely caught off guard by the 2001 riots, but some of us could see it coming a mile off. The tensions have to do with class as much as race. There are very few racially integrated neighborhoods (College Hill is one, and the area around the University). There is a black middle class, but it's not huge or visible. With a few exceptions, the black areas are also the poor ones, though there is also a poor Appalachian population in lower Price Hill.

Those that move there from the coasts or larger, more cosmopolitan places, find it fundamentalist-ridden and provincial. The city passed an anti-gay ordinance in 1993 (the same day it mostly unknowingly elected a ******* mayor), finally repealed it a few years ago. I understand the scene for straight singles is absolutely dismal. Since I've mentioned the negatives, here are some positives.

1. Extremely low housing costs

2. If you want to feel urban and hip, try living in Clifton or Mt. Adams. Ambar India is the best Indian I've had anywhere, hands down.

3. If you're into high culture, classical music, theatre, etc., you will love it. Way more going on there than in similar sized cities, and quality is very high.

4. Art Museum, Findlay Market, Chron Conservatory, some cool clubs and coffeehouses downtown, like Kaldi's.

5. While it's conservative, it's large enough to have a community of activists.

6. Eden Park, Mt. Airy forest, etc. The rolling hills are pretty (though not OMG beautiful in the same way as, say, the west coast). Definitely more scenic than other parts of the midwest.

7. Close to some nice hiking/camping in Kentucky hills.

8. Feels like a small town in many ways, when you build personal connections over the years. Some of my favorite people in the world still live there.

[paintballer1708]

Wow are you way off. Cincinnati has gone through so much change since 2001. There are so many plans in Cincinnati like the Banks Project and many new skyscrappers getting built. I assume that you are talking about Over-The-Rhine which is a historical district with great looking buildings. Yes it is mostly african american but OTR is a very nice historical place. People are trying to save it because people have plans to put new buildings there. Right now many of them are for sale and many people are buying them. OTR population is growing. Cincinnati has changed so much. There is not need to have a negative outlook on it.

[guidonia]

Paintball,

I have nothing against over-the-rhine-it's a nice, gentriying, and diverse place. And my feelings about Cincinnati are anything but negative. It'is my home, and I'll always love it. But it's not constructive to pretend that the racial tensions have magically healed after five years. I'd have to see some evidence. From talking to people I know who are intimately involved in efforts at interracial dialogue, it seems there is a long way to go. This doesn't mean that a white person can't walk down the street in a black neighborhood, or that black and white people are impolite to one another in social or work situations. There is a certain gentility that masks underlying differences in attitude. For this reason, it's easy to be unaware of the tension, especially if you're white. Many of the white people I knew in Cincinnati have very little contact with black people, much less direct discussion about these issues. In the black community, though, there is still a deep mistrust, especially of the police department, and a perception that racial profiling abounds. Before you can claim that the tensions have dissipated, have some honest discussions about race with people whose experience is not the same as yours. You'll see that there is a world of difference in underlying assumptions and perceptions. Of course, this is probably true in many other parts of the country, too, and I don't really know another city well enough to compare. But how many other large cities have had race riots in the last 10 years? Certainly it's not common!

[paintballer1708]

Yes, it is very common. I will not turn my head on the fact of race and the riots in this country. It really is a serious deal. If you look all over the country you will see a seperation of whites and blacks and it is a shame. The whites live in the higher class neighborhoods while the blacks live in the lower class. Its just plain wrong. Look at Detroit where they have had race riots throughout the history of that city. Thousands have died. And i look at Detroit today and it is the poorest and most dangerous city in the country with abandoned houses everywhere. Detroit wishes it could have Cincinnati's worse problems for their better ones. And then we will take a trip to Philadelphia where just three years ago a black neighborhood was the site of a police bombing raid on a certain house that caught the whole neighborhood on fire. Some 44 people died. How about Los Angeles? That city has problems with Mexican immigrants everyday. With shootings and drugs. The Los Angeles riots were amoung the worse in this country but not compared to Detroits. 50-60 people where killed in Los Angeles during those riots. Lots of cities have gone through riots in their history. Not just Cincinnati. And some were on much worse levels.

Today Cincinnati is a city of change. It spends the most on its Riverfront than any other city in the country. Including cities like Pittsburgh, St. Louis, San Antonio, and Portland. The downtown population is growing and the metro area grew by 8.9%. One of the fastest growth rates in the midwest. Like you said you dont know alot of other cities to compare. Well im an Urban Planner and i know the difficulties facing some of America's cities today. Detroit is in horrible condition. Like i said Detroit would want Cincinnati's worst problems for their better ones.